Now that I have the attention of the public by sleeping in extant slave dwellings, it is time to wake up and deliver the message that the people who lived in these structures were not a footnote in American history.

We have a lot in store for 2017! Send us a message if it looks like we will be near you – we’d love to meet up! Additionally, we hope you will join us for the 2017 Conference in Charlottesville, VA on Wednesday, October 18th – Saturday 21st – Thank you!

This overnight stay highlighted for me in a personal and physical way what the lives of enslaved people might have been like. It made me much more thoughtful about the harsh contrast between the lives of free, privileged, European American slave owners, like my own ancestors, and the lives of the enslaved and intentionally deprived African American people.

– Prinny Anderson, Coming to the Table

Latest Stays

Sometimes things begin to become routine. That can be good or bad. While sleeping in slave cabins is an effortless act for me, for others, it can mean many things because many people participate in this odd activity for various reasons. Several moving parts must be...

As the Slave Dwelling Project continues to evolve, patterns and themes are beginning to develop. I have spent the night at four institutions of higher learning; Clemson University in Clemson, SC; the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC; Furman University in...

Sometimes things don’t always go as planned. I had developed my routine for responding to inquiries about visiting antebellum historic sites with the intent of sleeping at them. Just when I had gotten comfortable with that way of doing business, right around 2013, I...

Inalienable Rights: Living History Through the Eyes of the Enslaved is a program the gives the Slave Dwelling Project the opportunity to conduct living history programs at antebellum historic sites. The Slave Dwelling Project has assembled African American living...

Remaining relevant factors into staying power. To remain relevant, one must evolve. While some are just catching on, the act of sleeping in extant slave dwellings is an old concept for me. Giving others the opportunity to share that experience with me is one element...

There are times when you get into something so deeply that you lose all sanity. Sometimes when trying to get to the result, you neglect to plan the necessary steps to get there. This way of living can often put you in situations where you have to make mind blowing...

The chattel slavery footprint that consumed this great nation is vast and not just relegated to southern states as assumed by many of whom I come in contact. It is the intent of the Slave Dwelling Project to identify and acknowledge the built environment that can help...

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Holly Springs, Mississippi has been beneficial for the Slave Dwelling Project. I have been participating in the Behind the Big House Tour for the past six years of its entire existence. What started as a partnership...

My sleepover at Dickinson Plantation in Dover, Delaware had a lot of moving parts. I first visited Dickinson Plantation two years ago with staff members of Cliveden in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On that visit, the site manager of Dickinson and I made a verbal...

Some relationships keep on growing. Chris Lese is a history teacher at Marquette University High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I met Chris in 2012 at a Civil War conference at Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. At that point, the Slave Dwelling Project...

“Who Speak Fuh’ We? WE Speak Fuh’ WE!” The work of The Slave Dwelling Project, Inc. is profound. The dwellings that we have to save remind me of a South African word, “Azuka”, meaning “help is imperative”. I am honored to be a member of the Project. We will raise the bar on cultural heritage preservation throughout the United States and abroad. I encourage folks to come on board, “Jine WE.”

– Patt Gunn, Geechee Girl Productions

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I can say that the experience has made me a better person. It’s taught me humility for those who lived daily in the conditions I experienced for only 12 hours. It’s shown me an importance in knowing and attempting to learn about your history. Most of all, it has proven that history is real.

Justin Castor, Student

I was thankful for the act of remembrance and the ability to do so in a cultural way; in ways that my ancestors would have been punished for on many plantations. It was there in the sanctuary that I gave thanks of knowing and living the words of the ancestors … “Lest we forget.” My chant to them on the altar was, “You are not forgotten. We remember you with praise and honor.”

Toni Renee Battle

All I can say about Joe’s stay and “By the Sweat of Our Brows” is: if you didn’t make it, I’m sorry you missed it. You had to have been there to experience the power.